Spark
by Deimoss
Summary: "So, you're gonna watch over me?" Sunstreaker gave a defeated sigh and rolled his optics. "Sure kid, whatever you say." The story of how Sunstreaker learned children can be both a tragedy and something wonderful.
1. chapter 1

'No one is sent by accident to anyone.' -Anonymous

"Way I see it Con, you got two options. You either hand over the sparkling and run with your tail between your legs. Or this blade gets crammed right down your processor. Not like you were using it for much anyway." The golden warrior spat as cold rain poured from the clouds above.

"Oh, this here fleshling. Trust me, no one will miss her. And out of all mechs I would think you to be the one that wasn't quite fond of them. I guess we all change." As if to taunt him further the soaking femme was precariously held over the side of a cliff between two lithe digits. Sunstreaker looked to the sobbing sparkling and in response his engine reverberated with a growl.

Sunstreaker took one small step forward, "Put the femme. On. The. Ground. Or I swear to almighty Primus you will witness something so gruesome no mech could stomach the sight." Each word was carefully emphasized by a tone dripping with malicious venom.

"Fine, you never were fun to play with anyway." As slowly as he could the Decepticon dropped the shivering girl on the floor a few feet away. "Now if we're done here I'd-" Sunstreaker launched himself forward and sunk his blade a hairlines length away from his spark.

"Remember this feeling if you even think about harming another human. Remember the liquid heat pooling in your sensors right before you drop into a dark stasis." Sunstreaker wrenched the weapon from the body and watched as it tilted over the edge. "Fragger."

The blade was sheathed as he heard the confirmation that the form had dropped to the bottom of the ravine. Sunstreaker turned to the girl and slowly crouched. A once over proved that she was no older than a sparkling. He let out a quiet sigh, "Hey, you can understand me right." Sunstreaker tried to keep his tone as passive a possible. The little thing was already shaken up and this was probably just the icing on the cake.

A shaken nod gave his only response. Had it been anyone else Sunstreaker would have been disgusted with the way they showed so much fear. But, he couldn't bring himself to feel that with her. Not only was it because she was just a sparkling but, because she was just so small. Nothing of that size should come into contact with a Decepticon first hand. Not even her.

"Then you should know that I'm not going to harm you. No matter how squishy you are." He carefully cupped a servo around her small form. Sunstreaker was cringing at the feeling of caked on mud scratching against his paint as he brought her up toward his chassis. Pushing past it he rubbed a soothing digit across her back. "You're not so bad, for a human of course." His only response was when the small femme cuddled closer as if feeding off the warmth of his spark. And his was a groan the signaled he knew he was in for something.

-S-

"You are aware, Sunstreaker, that she cannot stay here?" Prime informed the soldier as they waited outside of the Med-bay. The look the warrior gave him was fiery.

"For once, in all of my creation, I actually take to a human that I can actually withstand. And here you go telling me that we have to send her away to, Pit knows where because there's no one out there looking for the sparkling."

The Prime gave him a sympathetic look, "We do not know if her creators are out there looking for their lost child. Probably worried sick about her. Surely, if you had a sparkling of your own you would understand the gravity of this situation, Sunstreaker."

Sunstreaker crossed his arms over his chassis and glared, "What I do understand is that from what I saw when I picked that sparkling up there was absolutely no signs of care. Just look at her! Bruises, clothing that hardly fits her, caked on blood, and last but not least, scars that no child of that age should have. Now, you tell me what Primus forsaken caretaker would be looking for her through all of that."

Optimus seemed to have an internal battle with himself before he gave a defeated sigh. "Very well. But be advised that you will be in charge of her wellbeing. And if you fail to accomplish that then I know not what will become of her."

At that point the Med-bay doors opened with a hiss and Ratchet stepped out with a forlorn gaze. "Well, it's safe to say that she will survive the night. However, there are things pertaining to her health that I have no idea how she lasted as long as she did. Things from malnutrition to small lacerations. The bottoms of her feet looked as if she had trampled through a warzone. Which is highly understandable considering she was brought in with no shoes. I'll be keeping her on an IV drip for tonight. The nutrients will be good for her and help her sleep through the night peacefully." He wiped a tired hand over his faceplates.

"Thank you, old friend." Optimus nodded and casted his optics to the girl. But he was surprised to see Sunstreaker already standing against the far wall his optics trained on the sparkling.

Ratchet made to scold him but the Prime laid a gentle servo on his shoulder, "Let them be. I'm sure they'll have much to discuss when she wakes."


	2. chapter 2

'People don't _change_ you. They _reveal_ who you are.'

Sunstreaker had stood in that same spot for what felt like joors. Just standing there admiring the child and wondering just how in pit she had ended up in the hands of the enemy. He took a slow glance over her face as if memorizing ever dip and curve. Through private research he had learned that sparklings her age had a knack for giving their caregivers steady spark attacks. And he didn't want to be stuck with having to search for the small child every five breems.

Ratchet seemed to do a bang up job of wiping away the caked on dirt and dried blood. Something would just have to be done about her rags that could hardly be referred to as clothing.

Something glittering caught his optic and he took a cautious step forward as to not wake the sleeping child up. Taking a closer look Sunstreaker nothing that a dinged up bracelet was barely hanging on from her limp are arm. ' _Lyla_ ' It would be safe to say that that was her designation. "Lyla hm? Not too terrible. Could've been worse actually." As if in response the sparkling rolled over onto her side facing the mech, still in a peaceful stasis.

Sunstreaker emitted something of a grunt before standing back up just as the doors hissed open with a tired Ratchet entering.

"Oh, I thought you would have gone into stasis by now. I already told you she'll be fine for the night." The medic informed him while disconnecting Lyla from the drip.

"I thought you said she needed that to sleep. Why are you taking it off?" Sunstreaker asked with stoic glance.

"Yes but, I want to keep her on a regulated schedule. I don't know how her body will react to too much antibodies pumping through her system and I'd rather be on the safe side." Ratchet quietly rolled the machine away into a far corner before picking up a pad and typing away.

"Her designation is Lyla you know. Found it on the thing hanging from her arm. Either that or some kind of pet name." Sunstreaker muttered offhandedly as if trying to keep from an awkward silence.

Ratchet looked up from the data pad with a questioning gaze before placing it on the counter beside him. "Have you been here for _that_ long that you actually took the time to notice something as small as a bracelet? For a mech that could care less about 'squishy fleshbags' as you say it, you sure do seem to take to this one. I can't help but wonder why."

Sunstreaker gave the medic a withering glare before taking up his usual stance of crossing his arms over his chassis. "Well _look_ at her. Someone on this mudball of a planet has to keep an optic on her. The sparkling could slip on a rag and break a bone or something." True, he still didn't understand why he showed so much interest but, it was the least he could do in the situation.

"Well that's one response." Ratchet responded before heading for the doors. "At least try to get a couple of joors of recharge." With that he left the medbay with Sunstreaker glaring in his wake.

He didn't know how long it had been but Sunstreaker could feel the incessant tapping on his pede. The mech's joints were stiff and his rotator cuff was going to be feeling like that for quite some time. His optics shuttered open to reveal Lyla kicking against his pede with a determined look.

"Push!" Her voice was scratchy, as if someone had been drawing their nails against a chalk board. Sunstreaker nabbed the girl by the collar of her shirt with his first two digits.

"That would be a kick." He stated while walking over to the berth and placing her carefully down. "For someone that seemed on the brink of death not too long ago you sure are full of energy." The girl gazed up at him with forest green eyes and a small but delicate smile lit up her features. "What?"

"You helped me." She giggled out before angling herself forward to latch on to Sunstreaker's lingering digit. At this point the mech was thoroughly put out by her actions.

"Stop that. That's not a toy, it's my finger." Lyla seemed to respond by disentangling herself from his form. Sunstreaker kept his servo closely to his side from then on. "Sparklings shouldn't be up at this time. Go back into recharge."

The child looked at him confusedly as if he were speaking another language. Which, to some extent he was. Sunstreaker vented to harsh sigh before explaining, "You. Sleep. Dream. Count animals that jump over small enclosures." Why was it this hard to explain to a sparkling what it was to put itself into stasis?

"Why are you yellow?" Out of all that, all she got was the base coat of his form. "Like the sun!" Oh the irony.

"Yes yes, just like the giant star in the sky the keeps your planet from falling into despair." Sunstreaker huffed out giving up on the fact that she was actually going to sleep anytime soon. In fact, he had a few questions of his own. "Listen, you wanna stay up? Fine. But I'm going to ask you some stuff okay?"

The girl nodded eagerly and the mech couldn't help but let his features soften. "Mhm!"

"Okay then, first things first. Would your name just happen to be Lyla?" As expected she nodded once again although not as enthusiastically as before. More as if she were forced to. "Do you know how you ended up with the bot that had you before?"

She seemed to think about this for a moment before coming to a conclusion. "He found me. He was really mean too! He called me names like flecky."

"Fleshy." Sunstreaker automatically corrected feeling the way his servo slowly curved into a tight ball. Who knows what the Decepticreep did with her while he had her. Things Sunstreaker couldn't bring himself to think of at the moment.

"What's your name?" The question was innocent enough.

"Sunstreaker." Lyla looked at him confusedly for moment before going on to butcher his designation out on her own.

"Sun..beeker, Son..creeper." Before she could get another terribly butchered version of his name out Sunstreaker stopped her abruptly and almost offlined himself for what the words that he about to utter.

"Sunny! Just call me Sunny." He vented regretting the words as soon as they left him.

"Okay! Sunny, S-u-u-unny, Sun-n-n-ny." As if making it worse for him on purpose the Sparkling uttered the name like she was testing it out for herself to just torture him with. Sideswipe was going to be thoroughly jealous.

Lyla slowly brought herself to lay out on the berth with a stifled yawn. "Finally, now go to sleep." Sunstreaker turned to take up his previous position on the wall when he stopped mid stride.

"So, you're gonna watch over me?" Sunstreaker turned back and gave a defeated sigh and rolled his optics. "Sure kid, whatever you say."


	3. chapter3

Sunstreaker swore he left the medbay for exactly 15 breems. And in those small amounts of time _someone_ had lost the sparkling. The warrior had made perfectly sure that she was in capable servos - and still asleep for that matter - before he left to get his morning energon. When he bustled through the medbay doors Sunstreaker squatted a glare toward Jolt.

"You cannot _possibly_ sit here and tell me that you let a child slip out of your visuals! There is absolutely explanation for it." The mech fumed at the medic in training.

"And you cannot possibly ask me to watch something as small as a _human_ sparkling and go over these physical forms for all personnel on this base. I'm not a sparkling-sitter Sunstreaker, you forget that." The medic huffed before turning to yet another damnable form. All the while the yellow mech was left to scour the medbay because she couldn't have possibly gotten that far.

In all honesty, this is what he was most afraid of when it came to children. He would turn his back for a klik and bam, just like that she would be gone. He was used to engaging in cutthroat battles and taking down Decepticons with apt precision. Not taking care of a child that could very well get lost in a utility closet. And this was a prime example of that very situation.

"Well since you're no fraggin' help, could you at least tell me where you saw her last. Surely even you could provide me with that much." Sunstreaker ground out while rifling through a medical bin.

The medic-in-training moved from the files he was looking over to point to the far wall where an empty berth was positioned. "The last place I had laid optics on her was that berth. Now unless the sparkling somehow managed to make its way down I have no answers for you at the moment. Now if you would _please_ allow me to continue with these forms before Ratchet comes back. Primus knows what he'll do if he finds out I still haven't sorted these correctly."

Sunstreaker couldn't very well blame him either. A crossed Ratchet was a chaotic force to be reckoned with. Tossing one more glance around the area Sunstreaker exited the medbay and made his way down toward the south corridor. Maybe one of Lennox's men had come across Lyla while he wasn't looking.

The warrior was heavily starting to second guess his choices up to this point in time. He wasn't built as a caretaker to actually have the time to sit and watch a sparkling for every second of his life. His main function was to serve as an unmovable force that could level enemy grounds. Not to go around playing a one sided game of hide and seek with a mere sparkling. How could anyone-

"And then what?" A particularly youthful voice shot through the hall. Sunstreaker had found himself outside of his berth room and he could have sworn upon the Matrix itself that that voice belonged to the same child who he was still in search for. "Tell me! Tell me!" Oh yeah, that was it. Quickly punching his shared code into the automated lock Sunstreaker could only imagine who had been idiotic enough to take the sparkling and stow her in his own quarters. An he wasn't too surprised by what he found either.

"Okay, so like I said, I was cornered by Decepticon enforcers and they were coming in hot. I mean there were hundreds of them all with blasters gunning at the ready. Any sane mech would have given up and begged for his spark. But oh no, you will never see Ol' Sides begging on his knees. So you know what I did instead?" The sparkling loomed closer while still perched just inches away from Sideswipe's pede. Sunstreaker had chosen that point in time to actually make himself known.

"You woke up? Because that seems to be the only believable solution if you were actually just in a really deep recharge the whole time." The golden mech watched his twin almost jump out of his form at his sudden voice before leaping up to his wheeled pedes -being wary of the child- and rolling over.

"Sunny! Did you get a look at the human sparkling? Man these organics are almost identical to our own." Sunstreaker had half a processor to clip Sideswipe's helm just for speaking the Primus forsaken name. Not in front of the children.

"How many times do I have to drill this into your processor before you finally understand? Stop calling me that." A smug grin grew over the silver mechs face-plates. And that was never a cause for celebration. Something didn't feeling right here.

"Oh _really?_ Well, Lyla and I were having a nice little chat before your stormcloud burst through and she told me the darnedest thing. You wanna know what? Well I'll tell you." Oh frag. "She told me-"

"Sunny!" Primus smite him now.

"Pretty self explanatory, isn't it, _Sunny_?" Where had it all gone so wrong?


End file.
